Let's Talk
by ImagineTheTime
Summary: "He knew something was off. Something was wrong with the whole picture, and it was up to him to fix it." When Superman notices his team isn't acting like a team anymore, he creates a solution that has everyone on edge. A thundering Thanagarian, a famished Flash, a hurt Amazon, and a secluded Dark Knight are just some of the problems he has to face. (BMWW)
1. Chapter 1

**AN:**

 _Thank you all for clicking on this short story I have created. I'm looking for this to be a three-part story, so this is just the first chapter. I hope you all enjoy it, and I apologize if the characters seem OOC. I just needed their personalities to fit in with my plot. :) With that said - happy reading!_

 _Disclaimer: I do not own DC, therefore I do not own any of the characters mentioned here. I only own my thoughts._

* * *

 **Part I: Confrontations**

The room was filled with a thick silence; seemingly unspoken words being yelled inside the walls. The members all sat around the long circled table, glaring daggers at either each other or any other item they could lay their eyes on. Superman looked at each of his friends – who had basically become his family – with narrowing eyes.

He stood from the head of the table, his imposing figure looming over the rest of the league. "I'm assuming you all know why I've called you today." He cleared his throat before continuing, "There are some certain _issues_ that need to be addressed."

Before he could even get in another word, Flash abruptly stood up from his seat. "It was all Shay's fault!" He yelled, pointing an accusing finger at the Thanagarian.

"Flash, sit -"

"My fault?!" Hawkgirl followed the speedster's movements, pounding her fists on the table. "How is this _my_ fault?!"

"Shayera, no one is blaming you." Clark tried to reason with her, but his words were nothing but empty speech.

"You weren't cooperating with us!" Flash retorted. As mutual support, he turned to one of his closest family members, "Right GL?"

John looked up from his entwined hands, his face paling. "Um… um…." He failed at words, not prepared to face a thundering Thanagarian.

"Exactly!" The speedster folded his arms, assuming his friend had properly backed him up.

"It's not my fault that Diana wasn't there to back me up!" Shayera hissed back, glaring at the Amazon.

Hearing her name among the outburst, Diana furrowed her eyebrows, her anger starting to bubble up. "Do _not_ put this all on me." She said icily. "Blame Batman! He didn't let me return to the mission when Giganta injured me. It was a _simple_ injury!"

"Two dislocated shoulders and a cracked rib is _not_ a _simple_ injury, Diana," Batman growled in return, though showing no other sign of emotion. "What more could you have done in battle?"

The Amazon rolled her eyes and sat back in her chair whilst folding her arms. "I certainly could have done more than Flash." It wasn't the nature of Diana to criticize or hurt others – but frankly, she was tired of the blame getting pinned on her. "All you like to do is try and seduce the female enemies!"

"I can't help it if it's my strong suit!" He defended himself, pouting. "GL, back me up here!"

"All of you guys just need to relax," John said in response, rolling his eyes.

"And don't you sit there acting all high and mighty!" Shayera hissed dangerously, her wings seemingly becoming larger as she leaned forward. "If you had shown up on time, we could have had the situation under control! This all _your_ fault!"

"Well, I'm sorry if I do have a life outside of this Watchtower!"

Superman sighed deeply as he sat back in his chair. This isn't what he had in mind when he called for this last-minute meeting. And now as he looked at his teammates, it wasn't only their enraged expressions he could see; no, he knew there was something more to what was going on. Several times in a row they had suffered defeat by their enemies and it was clear they were lacking teamwork. He shook his head and sighed yet again as he tried to come up with different ways to solve their unspoken tension. However, he knew that now wasn't the time to act. They were too hot-headed, too stubborn, and too difficult to handle right now.

That's why he didn't even stop Shayera when she flew over the table, tackling John from his chair.

* * *

"Thank you for coming."

Superman adjusted the camera's view of the room until its film was clear. The small room came into focus – as well as the person sitting in the chair opposite of the camera. Wally slumped in the wooden chair, arms crossed over his chest.

"Supes, what's this about?" He asked, turning his attention from the camera to the Man of Steel.

Clark cleared his throat as he sat, notepad and pen in hand. "Now Wally, I wanted to ask you some questions -"

"I wasn't the one who ate the last of the Oreos, I swear!" He immediately defended, throwing his arms up in surrender.

With furrowed eyebrows, Clark fumbled on his words. "N-no… I… that's not why I called you here actually."

"Oh…" Wally trailed off, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. "Let's pretend that the last twenty seconds of this conversation never happened, okay?"

The Man of Steel shrugged, throwing his hands in the air. "What conversation?"

* * *

"Superman, what am I doing here?"

"Thanks for coming Shay." Clark greeted brightly as the Thanagarian sat in the chair opposite of him. "I had a few questions I'd like to ask you."

"If you want to know about the monitor duty that was left open, I had _nothing_ to do with it."

"No it's not -" He stopped midsentence when the words registered in his brain. "There was no one on monitor duty?!"

Shayera raised her hands in defense. "Look, it's not my fault. I was actually the one who took over."

Taking a few moments to clear his now frazzled mind, Clark stood absolutely quiet. This was becoming more complicated than expected, and he wasn't close to being down with these sessions. He could see the Thanagarian grow more concerned with each passing moment of silence.

"Clark..." She said quietly, leaning forward in her seat. "Can I go now?"

Plastering on a large smile on his face, he responded, "No. You'll be staying here for a while."

He noticed how his actions and words caused Shayera's heart rate to increase.

* * *

"Is everything okay, Supes?"

"Well… that depends on how this session goes." Clark answered as he stared at John. "I'm just going to ask you a few questions -"

"Well, if you're going to be answering questions, care to explain why all the food is running low even when we restock it?"

"What?"

"Every time I go to eat, there's a limited choice!"

Clark slumped in his seat, his lips compressing into a thin line. "Well… do you think you could eat less?"

John gave him a look of pure incredulity. "Are you being serious? Have you asked Wally that?"

"No," The Kryptonian sighed in defeat. "No, I haven't."

* * *

From the moment he walked in the room, Clark could tell he was upset. This was so unlike him that it was offsetting, causing him to almost reconsider questioning the Martian. But before Clark could dismiss him, he sat down.

"J'onn…" He smiled tightly, leaving his sentence hanging in mid-air. "How are you?"

"You know who ate the Oreos."

It wasn't a question. It was a statement. An observation. The Kryptonian was sure the Martian didn't even need to read his mind for the answer.

Clark fumbled with his pencil which caused him to start drawing aimlessly on his notepad. "W-what are you talking about?" He scoffed, shifting uncomfortably in his seat under the Martian's critical stare. "What Oreos?"

"You know of which _Oreos_ I speak," J'onn answered in all seriousness. "Who ate the last of them, Superman?"

"What makes you think _I_ know?"

"Your body language answers that question with clarity."

"Look J'onn, the reason I called you here -"

"Who took my Oreos?"

It was at that moment Clark realized he wasn't going to let this go anytime soon.

* * *

Clark was thankful for the familiar and kind looking face that sat opposite of him. Throughout this entire day, he was looking forward to talking to her the most. He knew that she was honest, trustworthy, and loyal – all attributes he needed for this to work.

"Diana," He sighed but still kept his smile. "It's good to see you."

"What's wrong, Kal?" Her eyes mirrored genuine concern as she leaned forward in her chair. "Is everything alright?"

Clark suddenly found himself extremely worn out. His posture slouched as his arms dropped to his sides. "No… not really." He murmured, his eyes fixated on the floor. "I just… I just wanted to ask you some questions. That's all."

He expected some sort of blurting of secrets he did not know of. He expected some sort of defensive position on her part. But he got none of that. Rather, her response was,

"Sure, go ahead."

He perked up at her words, an authentic smile spreading across his face. Although, he was certain that he looked more like someone who needed to be locked up in an asylum. The way Diana's face contorted slightly only confirmed it.

"Great!" He beamed. "Finally, I'm getting somewhere. Okay – I'm sure you've noticed that the team has been a bit… dysfunctional."

The Amazonian's next words were sharp and impassive. "Then I believe you need to talk to a certain Dark Night. Not. Me."

He was momentarily taken back by Diana's tone. Now he was positive something was definitely wrong with his teammates – with his family. "Um… care to clarify that?"

"Talk to Batman. Since he seems to know everything, maybe he can help you."

It was apparent by the way her arms crossed against her chest that she wasn't looking for a friendly conversation anymore. And despite wanting to reach the bottom of this situation, he was smarter than to aggravate an already agitated Amazonian warrior.

"Okay," He said weakly, averting her acute gaze. "I'll talk to him."

* * *

The room was filled with an unbearable silence – at least for him it was. He didn't know what to say; he knew had to frame his words carefully if this was going to go successfully. Still, that didn't solve the problem of his speech getting caught in his throat. He licked his lips once, twice, then a total of three times. His hand came up to his chin as he continued to stare at the man seated in front of him.

"What do you want, Kent?"

Clark shook his head feeling like an utter failure. "I actually have no idea anymore." The Dark Knight didn't say anything as he stood to leave, his black cape fluttering around him. "Wait!" The Kryptonian stood too. It caught Bruce's attention, but he didn't turn around. Before he could even stop the words from slipping past his lips, Clark blurted out, "I know what's going on between you and Diana."

Silence permeated the room was more, but this time it was different. It wasn't uncomfortable – no. This silence swore of bad things to come.

Bruce's voice was cold and emotionless as he spoke, "What did you say?"

That was it. He was a dead man.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN:**

 _Here's part 2 for you guys. Thank you for the support on the previous chapter. :) And a reviewer told me that I used two different Flash names in part 1, and for that, I apologize. I know it's Wally who is in the JL/JLU series, and he is the one who will be in this story - not Barry. tehe, sorry about that._

 _And as an additional note, episode 22 of season 2 for the JL series did not end with Hawkgirl and GL getting all cute together, at least not in this story currently. That is because I will introduce their cuteness in a different way._

 _I apologize for any grammar errors in advance. Happy reading!_

* * *

 **Part II: Revelations**

"I guess what I'm trying to say is -" Wally thickly swallowed the potato chips he stuffed in his mouth before continuing, "I'm tired of being treated like a baby. I know I'm the youngest here, but that doesn't mean I need to be babysat."

Clark sat back in his chair, his index finger and thumb stroking his chin thoughtfully. Leaning forward, he furrowed his brows. "And how does this make you feel, Wally?"

The speedster slouched, the empty bag of chips drifting from his grasp. "Like I'm incompetent to solve missions." He murmured.

The Kryptonian hummed deeply, unfolding his legs. Both were quiet for a moment, lost in their own thoughts. The comfortable silence was broken when Clark spoke, "Wally..." He started off quietly, catching the young man's attention. "I know you're the youngest one of all of us, and it must be hard to deal with the team at times, but just know we're looking out for everyone's best interests."

"And what about my interests?"

"You do a great job! You're a part of the team, doesn't that count for something?"

"I guess."

Superman reflected on the past missions – before this whole disarray started – hoping to find something to cheer Wally up. "Weren't you the one who ran that bomb out of Las Vegas and saved that whole city?"

"Yeah." He responded quietly.

"And when Grodd took over Central City, who stopped him?"

"Me."

"And what about that time John was taken to an intergalactic court trail? Who was loyal to him to the end?"

"Me!"

This went for a few more moments, Superman going into even further detail of each of the occasions where Flash proved to be a help to save innocent lives and when he stood up for his family. By the end of it, Wally's ego went from being punctured to inflated, so much so that Clark wavered in his speech.

"Go on." Wally insisted, patting his legs with eager anticipation. "What else you got?"

"That's it."

"Oh," He frowned before his face lit up with a mischievous brightness. "Well thanks, Supes, you're a life saver." He said brightly before speeding off in a streak of red.

"That's not good."

* * *

The Thanagarian sent him a ferocious glare that caused The Man of Steel to cower back in his seat.

"How am I feeling?" She echoed with malice. "How am I _feeling_?"

"You don't have to answer the question if you don't want to," Superman said quickly.

"Well, let's look at what's been going on these past couple of weeks." She smiled but it was far from genuine or welcoming. "First, we've lost six battles so far. Second, we haven't had a meeting since then to see how we can solve the problem. Third, Wally is starting to get on my nerves again. Fourth, John is becoming a pain in my neck – worse than Wally!"

This caught Superman's attention. It wasn't unusual for Wally and Shayera to bicker back forth, but this new information about John was definitely news to his ears. "What's that about John? He's been upsetting you?"

"Well…" Shayera shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "I mean… yeah, sure."

"It's a yes or a no question, Shay."

"Yes, okay! Yes! He has been bugging me for a while now."

"But why? What has he done?"

"He… he… I…" She fumbled with her wording as her hands moved this way and that in the air. "I… I don't know."

"You don't know?" He asked incredulously. "So John has been upsetting you, but you don't know why?"

Shayera lifted one shoulder nonchalantly, but it was clear by the way she fiddled with her fingers and kept concentrated on the floor beneath that she was acting bashful. "Yeah, I guess."

"But why Shayera? Why?"

"I don't know."

"You have to know. They are your own feelings."

"Yes, but it's all too confusing right now! I don't understand it! I don't get it!" She snapped, the floodgates starting to creak open. "I don't get the way my heart does this stupid flutter whenever I see him, or when he gets hurt during battle I don't get why I instantly freak out and rush to his side. I don't get why I'm always _wanting_ to be close to him. And I don't understand… why he makes me feel _desired_ and _necessary_. Like… like this has been my home this whole time and…" She sighed, taking off her helmet, her auburn locks falling into her emerald eyes. "My hands get kind of sweaty when he's near me, and sometimes I get nauseous – believe it or not – when he touches me in some sort of way. He just… he just takes my breath away."

Clark listened intently as his friend rattled off her emotions. The last part interested him the most, his overprotectiveness taking control. "So from what I'm hearing..., you've probably gotten a bug or something from John. Judging by what you told me, that doesn't sound like that should be happening to you. You may want to check with J'onn about that."

Shayera, for the first time since entering the room, broke out in a large smile. It took a moment before her smile turned into a throaty laugh, her head falling forward. Clark started to laugh along – although not certain of why he was doing so.

"You're right." She finally managed to say. She smiled kindly at the Kryptonian. "You're right. Maybe I did pick up a bug."

However, Shayera knew they were both talking about different "bugs".

* * *

"Well?" John tapped his foot impatiently, folding his arms across his chest. "Any idea why the food supply is running low?"

"No," Clark answered cautiously. When John gave a disappointed sigh, he immediately added, "Not yet." With a pointed finger at the Green Lantern.

"Well, ou better."

"But John, I didn't just want to talk about the food stock on the Watchtower. I wanted to ask you a few other questions."

"Okay."

"Oh, um…" He trailed off, not exactly expecting such a positive answer. "Okay, so… how do you think we're doing as a team?"

"There's been some tension between us, but I honestly don't see why."

"I think I may have the answer to that. Well, at least partial." Clark scooted his chair forward a bit, his face becoming austere. "I spoke to Shayera for a little bit before you came in, and… she told me some interesting news."

He didn't pay much attention when John's heartrate increased. "Oh? And what did she say?"

"We think you gave her a bug."

John's mouth opened but then closed suddenly when he heard his answer. He stared at Superman with a confusion that was so profound, it caused the Kryptonian to rephrase his previous statement. "We think that she's gotten sick because of you. That you passed on some sort of ailment to her and now she blames you."

"Huh." Was all the response he got.

"I mean don't get me wrong, I don't blame you personally. These things happen sometimes. But if you know that you're sick, then I think it's best that you let us know and stay home. It's just to make sure the rest of us don't get sick."

"Yeah, yeah." John muttered absentmindedly, still trying to wrap his head around Superman's observation. "Did she, um, say anything else?"

Clark thought for a moment, the prior therapy session nothing more than a blur. "She said something about you… making her feel _desired_ and _needed_ , whatever that means." He chuckled. "Women, huh?"

"Yeah, yeah." John repeated, standing abruptly from his seat. "You know what Clark, I think I'm feeling better now. I'm gonna go… apologize to Shay."

It didn't take him another second before he rushed out the door, the iron gates sliding shut behind him. Clark smiled victoriously, mentally congratulating himself that he was getting somewhere. That's when a thought occurred to him, and his mental victory was cut short. " _Desired_? What does that even mean?"

* * *

"I don't think anyone meant to steal your Oreos, J'onn." Superman tried to coax the uptight Martian, but to no avail. "These things just happen sometimes."

"Then how do you explain the writing of my name on the wrapper with these letters ' _I_ ', ' _O_ ', ' _U_ '?" He asked, holding up the said cookie wrapper.

He sighed, knowing very well that it was definitely a certain speedster who was responsible for this catastrophe. "Someone was probably just craving Oreos."

" _I_ am now craving Oreos and I have none!"

"Would it make you feel better if I bought a whole super-family-pack-thing of Oreos myself?" Clark asked, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'll buy a separate pack for Wally so that he won't eat yours again."

The words were out of his mouth before he could hold them back. His head snapped up to find J'onn's narrowing eyes boring into his own.

"Wally is the one responsible for my current suffering?"

"I… well… there's a different way to view this -"

"Is Wally the one who ate my Oreos?" He asked, his voice showing no sign of humor or compassion. Superman could only nod meekly in return. "I should have known."

J'onn stood from the chair with such calmness and grace that it frightened the Man of Steel. His cape encircled him as he gave a curt tip of his head as his farewell. He said nothing as he made his way to the door. Once he was alone in the room, Clark could only curse himself for ratting out the Speedster.

* * *

"Before I talk to him, though Dee," Superman paused. "what's going on between you two?"

"What do you mean?"

"You've been at each other's throats for a while now. What's going on?"

"Why does there have to be something going on?"

"Why are you answering my question with a question?"

"Why are _you_ answering my question with a question?"

Clark sighed, scribbling down notes on his notepad. She was behaving oddly; their relationship being as sister and brother, he picked up on something that wasn't there before. Diana would have never answered to a question like that before. He wondered if it was by association that she had started to pick up these little traits.

"Diana, talk to me." He cajoled, his voice soft and inviting. "You know you can trust me."

The Amazon sighed, raking a hand through her raven locks. "Do you know when…" She swallowed thickly and her body released a shudder. "when you love someone so much, and they feel the same way, but don't show it in the same way?"

"I don't follow."

Diana shook her head in an idle manner. "It's when you love someone so much, and all you want is the best for them. But then, they kind of… take over them. Like that someone can't make their own decisions so the other person has to make it for them. Or when you think you have a situation under control – or you think you _really know_ that someone – and then they give you the biggest surprise of your life. And when that someone thinks that you can't protect yourself and they become like a father instead of a lover, always peering over your shoulder and making sure you're doing things right." She finished, breathless. "Don't you get that?"

"No," Clark answered honestly with a flustered face, his brain attempting to process all of the information he was told in those ten seconds. He cleared his throat when the Princess casted her gaze to the floor. "But that doesn't mean whoever this person is doesn't. Why don't you talk to him? Try and understand his point of view?"

"Okay." She responded quietly. "Thanks, Kal."

He nodded, a friendly smile gracing his lips. "Now," The smile suddenly disappeared as he glared at her. "Who is this man you are seeing?"

The smile that Diana also held faltered at that moment.

* * *

"So, I talked to Diana earlier," Clark started out uneasily, not completely sure where to go with this conversation. "and she told me a few things."

Of course due to the masked cowl the Dark Knight wore, he couldn't visually see the glare that Bruce was sending his way. But – he could feel it. Clark's lips compressed into a thin line as he look away.

"And?" Bruce's sharp tone caused him to jump in his seat a little.

"Well, she told me some things."

"You've mentioned that already."

"Right. Um…"

" _What_ did she say?"

"You guys are together!" He exclaimed before covering his mouth, ashamed that he could have caved that easily. The silence that permeated the room didn't make him feel any better. "I'm sorry, Bruce, I really am. I didn't think she would tell me so quickly. But she was really upset and she just started to vent, and… and I'm sorry."

Other than how his fists and jaw clenched together tightly, Bruce displayed no other emotion. "She was upset?"

"Yeah. I've never seen her so irked before." In one swift movement, Batman started towards the door. "Bruce wait. I wish it was under better conditions that I could tell you how happy I am for you guys. And it's because I'm so happy that I think you should really talk to her about this. Not a Batman-to-criminal type of talk, but an actual talk. She needs to know you care for her."

"I think it'd be best if you stayed out of this." He snapped, however not as unkindly as he normally would. The doors opened in front of him but before walking away, he looked back over his shoulder. "And Kent – this isn't over."

All the Kryptonian could do was gulp thickly as the Dark Knight strode out of the room.


End file.
